Germany-based biotechnology company ARTES and Bio Farma, Indonesia's only vaccine and antisera producer, are to join forces for the development and manufacturing of vaccine candidates.
ARTES is specialised in cell line and process development, VLP-based vaccines as well as in technology transfer for pharmaceutically relevant production processes, whereas Bio Farma is involved in the manufacturing of vaccines, serum and other biological products for the Indonesian domestic and international markets.
Under this commitment a first agreement for VLP-based vaccine technology transfer was signed on 1 July in Bandung, Indonesia.
‘Bio Farma is a strong and reliable pharmaceutical partner and the only vaccine and antisera producer for humans in Indonesia,’ said Dr Michael Piontek, founder and managing director of ARTES Biotechnology. ‘We are more than confident that we, along with Bio Farma, will develop vaccines highly relevant for the Indonesian and neighbouring markets. We expect that especially developments based on our Metavax technology will contribute to Bio Farma´s vaccine portfolio.’
Metavax is a patent protected VLP technology, based on modifications to duck hepatitis B virus. The approach elicits a highly potent immune response and therefore a broader protection than the currently available VLP approaches. ARTES´ Metavax platform is suitable for the development and production of safe and cost-effective vaccines.
The Government of Indonesia, represented by Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Culture and Ministry of Research and Technology, fully supports this partnership and will assist in aspects of policy to accelerate the development of vaccines in Indonesia.